My review of 'Zootopia'!

So I saw "Zootopia" the past weekend. Tons of fun... I wrote a review on Examiner.com.

Here's a short excerpt from my review:

"Zootopia" (2016) Rated PG. Directed by Byron Howard, Rich Moore, Jared Bush. Animated.

This film is currently playing in theaters everywhere.

In Zootopia, a big city in a world where all animals get along like civilized people, Judy Hopps (Ginnifer Goodwin) is the first rabbit to become a police officer, eager to prove herself to everyone around her. After being assigned to only write parking tickets all day, she soon finds herself thrust into an exciting missing animals case that be solved within 48 hours or she will lose her job. After teaming up with Nick Wilde (Jason Bateman), a fox con artist, her trail leads her to unexpected places and dangerous animals, political corruption, and a sinister plot that could break down the civilized foundations of Zootopia itself.

I was pretty much sold on watching "Zootopia" when I saw the brilliant "Sloth" trailer that played right before "Star Wars: The Force Awakens." The hilarious clip, which showed sloths working at the DMV, showcased the brilliant animation of the characters as well as its spot-on, clever humor. Walt Disney Studios certainly showed their confidence in their material by releasing that extended segment and it made one believe that the rest of the film was as equally great. While the film in general indeed wound up being quite excellent, the surprise was how much of this film wasn't constantly funny, but quite serious in many parts. This film is actually quite earnest and thought provoking. It manages to cleverly parallel our society using animals, a shtick that hasn't been fully used to its advantage since George Orwell's "Animal Farm."

The animation is absolutely amazing. Every detail in the movements of these characters feel animal-like, yet also fully human emotionally. The eyes, the nose, and body movements all tell a specific story about the characters. And, the voice-overs are flawless. Ginnifer Goodwin brings ton of optimistic energy and emotion to Judy Hopps. Jason Bateman, the actor, becomes completely invisible playing Nicke Wilde--he becomes the character. The environments of Zootopia are full of life, colorful, and gorgeous to look at, showcasing different districts, some big and some small, and their highly-detailed communities and idiosyncrasies. One may be reminded of the excellent "The Lego Movie" in how detailed the environments are (without being blocky).

The rest of my review can be found at:
http://www.examiner.com/review/review-zootopia-goes-for-the-heart-more-than-the-funny-bone?cid=db_articles